Ranking Member DeLauro Statement at the Subcommittee Markup of the 2024 Legislative Branch Bill
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee Markup of the 2024 Legislative Branch bill:
Thank you to the subcommittee staff for all the work that you do. I associate myself with the Ranking Member Mr. Espaillat in talking about we all have an obligation to make sure that our staff, whether they serve here in Washington, DC, or if they serve in our home districts, that they are safe. We all recall that staff people were in jeopardy on January 6th some still haven't weathered the storm in their own minds about the circumstances. I can recall 9/11, staff running amuck in the streets not knowing what was going on. They are mostly young people. As I look around, I think they are all 12 years old. They are so wonderfully young and energetic. They deserve our help and our support. It's good for their parents to know, quite frankly, that we care about their health and safety. I support my colleague's efforts to increase the funding to help to support their safety.
We are at the second subcommittee markup for the 2024 appropriations process under a Majority that has not established a discretionary allocation for the Committee – and has yet to reveal its 12 subcommittee allocations. House Republicans appear to be proceeding pursuant to a promise they made to each other to slash the nondefense programs that families depend on to survive.
Let me emphasize: the House Republicans have pledged to cut critical programs by $142 billion. And by the majority's estimate, the bill before us today cuts more than $250 million from the Legislative Branch. Because we have not been given information about the cuts being proposed by Republicans, that means the other appropriations bills still must bear – $142 billion in cuts; this is simple math, Mr. Chairman. And it means that the across-the-board cuts of at least 22 percent to nondefense programs that would be required to meet their target and that would mean it would be will actually be much steeper for the bills that they are still holding back. Simply put, the Republicans' plan is a house of cards.
Beyond the fact that we cannot support bills when we only know the smallest piece of the overall funding puzzle, this bill falls short of ensuring we can sustain a strong and well-functioning Legislative Branch that is essential to our democracy. This bill rolls back progress made in recent years, does not fully fund personnel needs as requested for the United States Capitol Police, zeroes out funding for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion as my colleague has pointed out, and does nothing to facilitate the use of funds for collective bargaining rights for Congressional staffers. We made progress last Congress – but this bill takes us back.
For all these reasons, I cannot support this bill, and I respectfully request that my friends on the other side of the aisle go back to the drawing board and come back with a workable allocation and a slate of workable subcommittee allocations so that we are able to proceed with the important business of our 2024 appropriations work.
I yield back.